Belfast republican Bobby Storey, left, Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew, and Belfast Lord Mayor Tom Hartley judges of Sinn Fein Factor, a take on of the X Factor show at the Felon's Club on the Falls Road, Belfast.

Well the party’s own quest for a ‘pop idol’ went ahead as planned in the Felon’s Club on the Falls Road on Friday night. Euro MP Mary Lou McDonald, Paul and Alex Maskey and fellow Assembly members Jennifer McCann, Sue Ramsey and Fra McCann all took to the stage.

And it was Fra who emerged victorious, wowing the audience and judges with his Kris Kristofferson impersonation. But not all were convinced the victory was entirely above board.

Alex Maskey, who along with brother Paul and nephew Conor dedicated their rendition of the Zutons’ hit ‘You will, you won’t’ to the DUP, said his family never stood a chance.

“Fra had the crowd packed with constituents from the Lower Falls,” bemoaned the South Belfast MLA. “He had it won before he even got on stage.”